Guiding Star
by Kyosuke-kun
Summary: Two years have passed since Chieri awakened as Center Nova. As she prepares herself for the inevitable end of a journey and the beginning of a new one, Nagisa contemplates what she needs in order to become the next center.
1. Chapter 1

The Flying Get's conference room was packed. Tsubasa, Uchiyama-sensei, Miichan, and all the successors and understudies were present. They had met to discuss one single matter: what would happen with Chieri.

During the concert for the liberation of Akibastar Chieri had awakened as Center Nova. The Center Nova was meant to be the front girl of the group, the ace, and was to center every performance. Generally, having a new Center Nova would be an occasion to celebrate, but Chieri was still an understudy and that was unheard of for a center.

"It's not for us to question Sensei-sensei's decisions," Tsubasa declared sternly. Tsubasa was the general manager of 00 and former Mariko the 7th, and had been part of the staff since Atsuko Maeda the 13th—the previous Center Nova—disappeared. She was in charge of all the logistic matters involving the group, though the most important decisions were made by the mysterious entity known as Sensei-sensei.

"We're just worried that some fans may not take it so well."

Some members nodded in agreement with their captain, Takahashi Minami the 5th. The captain was the member in charge of leading and looking out for the group. It was a role given to every Takamina successor in honor to the first Takahashi Minami, who had been the leader of the original AKB.

"I'm aware of the issue. Regardless, Sensei-sensei's decisions are absolute. We'll do our best to make this transition as painless as possible for the fans." Tsubasa scanned the room looking for objections. Seeing none she continued. "For the time being, Chieri will perform as full member. With some luck, it won't take long until she properly succeeds a nam—"

"I won't become a successor."

Every head in the room turned towards the girl who had interrupted their manager. She had long, wavy hair, and was slightly taller than average for her 13 years of age. Her body was slender but shapely and her facial features were strikingly beautiful. All who knew her agreed that she looked almost perfect.

She was the subject of this discussion: Chieri Sono.

Seeing that her words had left everyone dumbfounded, Chieri hurried on. "I'm not saying I don't want to be a successor, but… whether I want to or not, it just won't happen."

"W-what do you mean it won't happen?" Tsubasa's attempt to regain her bearings wasn't quite successful.

"I don't know how to explain it. I… I just know it."

"I think I get it."

"Miichan?" Tsubasa turned towards the photographer surprised.

"Chan-tsu, I told you this before, remember? A Center Nova grows connected to everything and everyone, even to the past and the future," Mikako Minamino explained. She was the former Miichan the 5th and ex-Center Nova herself. "It's not unheard of for them to develop a sort of precognition."

"Are you serious?"

Judging by the looks of disbelief across the room, Tsubasa wasn't the only one having a hard time grasping the situation.

"Of course I am. Although, this shouldn't happen until the later stages in the development of a Center Nova. Chieri seems like a special case. She's particularly strong and radiant…"

What Miichan left unsaid wasn't lost to Chieri. When a Center Nova reached the ultimate radiance she would disappear. If Chieri was more radiant than usual for a novice Center Nova, that could only mean that she was closer to disappear as well.

This was fine as far as she was concerned. She had been aware of the inevitable fate of the Center Nova long before becoming one, and had decided to move forward regardless. She wasn't particularly interested in reaching the top or anything like that, though. She wanted to go even higher: to bring love and hope to every corner of the universe. That was her true dream, and for that reason she needed to become more and more radiant, even if that meant getting ever closer to disappear.

Tsubasa pursed her lips thoughtfully, pondering on this new insight Miichan had revealed.

"Well, all this just might be Sensei-sensei's will," she finally said.

Nagisa and the other understudies standing close to Chieri beamed at Tsubasa's decision, unabashedly showing their support for their friend and teammate.

"Chieri will perform as the official center and front member of 00 from now on. We'll make the formal announcement as soon as the theater is in conditions. We'll announce Nagisa's succession there as well, and…."

Chieri wasn't listening anymore by then. Everything around her had faded out to let her alone with her thoughts. This was it. She would have to work harder than ever to properly fulfill her role, to show everyone that she could take on this responsibility even if she wasn't a successor. It would be hard but this was her starting line, and she couldn't wait for her first performance as Center Nova.


	2. Chapter 2

Nagisa woke up that morning feeling sore all over. In a few days the sembatsu members, of which she was currently part of, would perform a new setlist at the theater, and Uchiyama-sensei had made them practice like mad the last few nights. She rubbed her tired eyes and looked at Chieri's empty bed. Chieri had always had a hard time getting out of bed but lately it wasn't strange to see her up first. Two years had passed since Chieri became Center Nova and Nagisa realized there were many little things about her that had changed since then. She wondered if she herself had changed too…

Thirty minutes later and breakfast finished, Nagisa headed to the practice room looking for her best friend. Today was a day-off, but that had never stopped Chieri from practicing on her own first thing in the morning. She was that kind of girl after all: always very serious about her work. Well, they all were like that to some extent. Chieri just took it to the next level.

Not surprisingly, finding out that Chieri wasn't there left her absolutely bewildered.

"Are you looking for Chieri-san?"

Nagisa turned around to find her other roommate, Sawako Hata the 4th, previously known as Suzuko Kanzaki, a quiet girl with glasses who knew all sorts of trivia about the group and its history.

"Good morning, Atsuko-san," Sawako greeted her in her usual formal speech.

"Morning, Sawako. Have you seen Chieri?"

"Yes. I just saw her in the courtyard."

"Thanks a lot," Nagisa replied and trotted outside, trying to figure out why Chieri wasn't in the practice room when everything she knew about the girl said she should be there.

Some moments later Nagisa found Chieri sitting on the grass in the courtyard, her back on a tree and her eyes closed. The wind was blowing softly against her bangs and she looked so placid it almost seemed like she was asleep, though Nagisa could tell somehow this wasn't the case.

"What is she doing?" she thought out loud.

"Meditating, maybe?" Miichan stepped besides her, a mischievous grin on her face like always.

"Meditating?" Nagisa cocked her head in confusion.

"Sometimes a Center Nova would have dreams or visions of the past and future, of different places and people." Miichan was still smiling but Nagisa could have sworn her expression now seemed almost wistful. "It gets a little overwhelming sometimes. Taking a moment to clear out your head once in while helps keep yourself together"

"Being Center Nova sounds pretty tough, huh?" Nagisa said without thinking.

Miichan looked at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement. "But you're going for it too, right?"

Feeling embarrassed Nagisa averted her eyes from the woman and looked at her friend in the distance again, frowning as she felt a twinge inside her. It's not that she'd forgotten that Chieri was her rival and she was supposed to try overtake her. But…

"You okay?" Miichan asked, noticing Nagisa's sudden change of mood.

"Eh? Ah, y-yes, I'm fine." Nagisa's attempt to act naturally was an utter failure, but Miichan didn't press on it.

"Look. It seems Chan-chie's done."

Grateful that Miichan had dropped the subject, Nagisa followed her gaze and saw Chieri standing and waving at them.

~X X X~

Tsubasa stepped in the cavernous passage underneath the theater. An hour ago she'd been informed that something strange was happening with Sensei-sensei, and she'd rushed there to check on the mysterious being whose existence was so important for the continuous wellbeing of the group and Akibastar.

She was dressed in the ceremonial attire of a miko, as she always was went coming down to this place. This custom had passed down for generations among 00's management. She didn't know when it had originated, nor why they'd built a temple inside this cavern in the first place, but after years as general manager of the group she was already used to the routine.

As she went deeper into the cave she began to notice the dualium crystals disseminated all around were glowing brighter than usual. The lights were beating with a hypnotic rhythm, like the palpitations of a heart, and for a moment Tsubasa felt like she'd been swallowed by some giant creature.

Finally, she reached the temple where her subordinates, also wearing miko attire, were waiting for her. She was about to call out to them when a loud growl resonated all around and a blindly bright light coming from the innermost part of the cave flashed for a few seconds. She covered he eyes and stood in place, trying to figure out what was going on.

After a moment the commotion passed and she uncovered her eyes slowly.

"Tsubasa-san!" The miko who had called for her finally noticed her presence. "Did you see that, Tsubasa-san?"

"Yeah." She was still a bit too shaken up to come up with a smarter thing to say. Trying to put herself together she added, "Has it been doing that all this time?"

"Yes. We called you as soon as we noticed."

Tsubasa was about to speak again when the growl and the flashes came back. "What the hell is happening with Sensei-sensei?" she cried out despite herself.

Tsubasa left the theater an hour later with a troubled look and a restless mind. Sensei-sensei's behavior was puzzling because it was the first time it didn't seem to have a clear intention. Usually, she and the other miko could easily tell what Sensei-sensei was asking from them, but now—

She was jolted out of her reverie by her phone.

"Tsubasa speaking," she answered. "Yes… I see… Then—What!? That can't be true. Are you sure that's what they said? Yes… Yes, okay…"

She hung up a minute later, feeling sick all over again. Struck by a sudden sense of dread she looked at the theater and wondered if what she'd seen in the temple was somehow related to the content of this phone call.

~X X X~

Chieri and Nagisa were walking in the courtyard, talking about the new setlist and Uchiyama-sensei's super extreme lessons—so extreme in fact that for the first time all the girls had used their day-off to take a break for real—, as well as Makoto's most recent failure on intergalactic television. It had been some time since they both could hang out like this, simply talking and laughing about anything and everything, and Chieri relished every moment of it. Although she was very serious about her work as an idol, she'd spent most of her childhood alone, with no one to call friend and be herself with, so every moment with Nagisa and the others was precious to her.

That was exactly why she couldn't help but notice that Nagisa was acting weird today. She was trying to hide it but Chieri knew her better than anyone and could tell something was troubling her.

"Acchan, what's the matter?" she finally asked.

"Eh? What do—"

"Don't even try. Something's bothering you, I can tell."

Nagisa met Chieri's eyes and remained that way for a few moments.

"I… I just don't know what to do," she finally admitted in a faint voice that was almost a whisper. "I mean, after becoming Atsuko Maeda the 14th my dancing and singing improved a lot, and I gained a huge boost in popularity too. But…" She looked at the ground, ashamed of what she was going to say next. "No matter what I do, I just can't reach you."

This surprised Chieri to say the least. Nagisa was the successor to the legendary Atsuko Maeda. How could she believe her efforts were in vain? She wanted to stop her right there and tell her how mistaken she was, but forced herself to keep listening.

"I thought as Acchan the 14th I could get close to you." Nagisa's face reddened slightly. "That gave me confidence and I've been doing my best, but…"

Chieri waited for her to continue—she didn't want to put more pressure on her friend—and after a moment Nagisa finally asked what was eating at her. "Do I have what it takes to be Center Nova?"

Chieri didn't answer her question; she just took Nagisa's hand and smiled at her. "Let's go take a walk."

"W-what?" Nagisa couldn't say more as she was dragged away from the dorms.

~X X X~

Chieri took Nagisa to the commercial district first and they visited all sorts of shops. Displaying a side of herself she didn't show often, Chieri marveled at every little detail of AKB's homeland and its people. It was rare to see her like that and Nagisa found herself being swayed by her enthusiasm.

After a while, they stopped by a clothing store and Chieri made Nagisa try some swimsuits, to the latter's utter embarrassment.

"You looks so cute!"

"Stop it. Why don't _you_ try something out"

"What'd you have in mind."

Nagisa looked around. "That skirt. I want to see you in that."

"Okay," Chieri said playfully. A few moments later she got out of the changing room looking like one of those models who filled the pages of fashion magazines, if not even cuter. She struck a pose and asked, "So, how do I look?"

"Geez, it's not funny when you do it," Nagisa replied, feigning disappointment. Secretly, she loved watching Chieri wearing cute clothes, and she couldn't help stealing glances at her every few seconds.

"It's not supposed to be funny." Chieri struck another pose and winked at her.

As a crowd was gathering around Chieri to see her modeling all sorts of outfits, Nagisa realized her friend had brought her to town to cheer her up. She felt immensely grateful and as she watched Chieri thank her adoring fans she found that it was working: as they went from place to place, looking around and enjoying their day-off, she was beginning to feel better.

A few hours later, after getting a bite in a little restaurant by the river, Chieri and Nagisa got on a ferry that would take them on a trip around the city.

After a while, Nagisa noticed Chieri was awfully quiet now, a stark contrast to her energetic display early that day. She was looking at the city with a wistful air in her eyes as the ship swayed slowly. The subtle movement held a hypnotic quality to it and Nagisa found her eyelids dropping against her will. She was starting to lose track of time when Chieri spoke to her again.

"Did I ever tell you about Takarastar Kagekidan?"

"Eh? Oh yeah, it's that all-female troupe you're fan of, right?" Nagisa felt proud for being able to hide that she'd almost fallen asleep.

"I-I'm not a fan. I just watch it sometimes." Chieri's reddened cheeks weren't helping her sound convincing.

"Okay, okay." Nagisa thought Chieri's embarrassed face was as cute as it was rare, but she was genuinely curious about her question so she moved on. "So, what about Takarastar?"

"About a year or so I found out the kirara often appear at their performances. In fact, they appear in all sorts of entertainment events across the Entertainment Protection Sphere."

"Wha—? But I thought they just liked idols."

Chieri shook her head.

"So… you mean the kirara glow for any performers?" Nagisa asked tentatively as she noticed their trip on ferry was coming to end. That was strange, she thought. She was sure it was supposed to be longer. Had she fallen asleep after all?

Then, as in a deja vu, Chieri took Nagisa's hand and smiled. "C'mon, there's one more place we need to see."

It was beginning to get dark when they got to the place Chieri was taking her to, a park that was close to the dorms. Chieri looked around and started walking towards the most secluded area with Nagisa lagging a few steps behind.

What are we doing here, Nagisa wondered, but she was plucked out of her thoughts as Chieri suddenly took her hand and hid behind a tree. She was about to speak up but her friend gestured for her to keep silence. Then Chieri leaned to the side and motioned for her to follow her example.

Nagisa froze in place as she finally saw what had caught Chieri's attention. There they were, hiding behind a tree in a park at night spying on a couple.

"Look," Chieri said.

Nagisa looked up and saw they were kissing. "W-what are we doing here?" she whispered as a mad blush covered her entire face.

"Just wait a minute. You'll see." Nagisa couldn't believe Chieri could keep her composure in this situation and was going to protest when the latter cut her off again. "Look, there it is."

Nagisa looked at the couple again and was left dumbstruck.

"Th-that… That's a kirara. There's a kirara glowing there."

Chieri responded to Nagisa's babbling with a little snicker as they watched the sparkling little thing flying around the couple. After a while Chieri took Nagisa's hand again and led her out of the park.

A few minutes later as they made their way back home Chieri finally asked, "So, what do you think?"

"I don't know. Just a few hours ago I thought no one but us could make a kirara glow. Then you tell me performers from all around the galaxy can do it too. And now this? What does it mean?"

"The kirara react to positive emotions, emotions that push you forward," Chieri said as she looked at the stars. At that moment her kirara appeared out of nowhere and floated around her. "When I first met you I was really worried because this kid wouldn't glow for me. It's not that my performance lacked feeling, but because of my lack of confidence, those feelings were only bogging me down…"

Nagisa felt useless as she didn't know what to say. Chieri had helped her so many times, and she'd never been able to return the favor.

"Sorry, I'm going a bit off topic here," Chieri said sheepishly. "Anyway, I'm really grateful he stuck with me all this time." The kirara landed on the palm of her hand and she gave it a fleeting kiss."

"So…" Nagisa started but stopped right away, still lost at words.

"So…" Chieri smiled kindly at Nagisa's puzzled look and decided to spell it out for her. "There's no direct relation between the Center Nova and AKB0048."

"E-ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?"

"Right now the girl who awakens as Center Nova is made the center and front girl of 00, as such is Sensei-sensei's will, but what we call Center Nova is just a girl chosen by the kirara. It doesn't have to be a 00 member."

"And what does _that_ mean?"

"It means 00 can't tell you what the purpose of the Center Nova is." Chieri placed her hand over Nagisa's heart. "You can only find it here."

~X X X~

Some days later, right after one of the usual theater performances, Tsubasa gathered all the members and understudies. The usual style of management was to announce any news during concert, to make it more dramatic for both the idols and audience. But this was a special case. This time there was too much at stakes and she couldn't make a decision on her own.

Tsubasa waited for the girls to settle down and after what seemed like an eternity she took a deep breath and said, "We have received an invitation to do a guerrilla concert."

The crowd cheered loudly at the news. They hadn't done any guerrilla concert in a while as the group had only performed inside the Entertainment Protection Sphere the last few months. Tsubasa could tell the change of pace was welcomed and everyone was eager for a real challenge.

It didn't surprise her, though, that their captain was able to see the inconsistencies. "Tsubasa-san, this are great news but, why wasn't it announced during the performance?"

Tsubasa scanned the room, her gaze inadvertently coming to rest on Chieri. She averted her eyes quickly and took another breath. Well, it's now or never, she thought, mustering her resolve.

"The planet this invitation came from is fully under the Entertainment Ban. No only that, but it's one of the top planets in DGTO's hierarchy."

"What planet is it?"

"Sagittariustar."

A rain of murmurs and whispers invaded the room the moment she mentioned that name.

"Tsubasa-san, that's—"

"I know, Yuuko," Tsubasa cut her off, still trying to avoid looking at Chieri. She didn't want this to become personal.

"Tsubasa-san, what if it's a trap? Takamina cut in. "Who's requesting this concert anyway? I doubt there are any WOTA in that planet."

Tsubasa knew she couldn't delay this anymore. She stole another glance at Chieri and looked at Takamina, determined to convey the full extent of what was asked from then. "This concert was requested by Zodiac Corporation's interim CEO, Miyagi Yasunaga."

If Chieri reacted in any way, Tsubasa couldn't tell. Perhaps she'd underestimated the girl. She shook her head to clear up her mind and went on. "We're pretty sure it's not a trap, but the risk is the same." Tsubasa begin to pace on the stage. "Here's the deal. Since the previous CEO's death, even people in the high spheres of society are beginning to see DES as a threat. Aware of this, Yasunaga-san's been making connections among the politicians of the planet. Since is Sagittariustar, if our concert is successful, it will shock the very foundation of DGTO's power. And Yasunaga-san believes it won't take more than a few years for him and his associates to change the whole political landscape afterwards."

"That all sounds pretty crazy," interjected Sayaka Yamamoto the 8th, formerly known as Kanata Shinonome. "But if this can really help change things to that extent, we've got to do it no matter what."

Sonata Shinonome got closer to her sister and took her hand in a supporting gesture.

"I think the same, we should do it," Yuuko said, receiving nods of approval from other successors and understudies.

"I'd like to do too, of course," Tsubasa admitted. "But this will be the most dangerous guerrilla concert we've ever done. DES' military might in Sagittariustar doesn't compare to anything we've seen before. I want everyone to understand that."

A silence that seemed to last forever took hold of the theater, and Tsubasa could tell everyone was beginning to consider the real risks for the first time. She really wanted to do this concert, but she wasn't strong enough to ask everyone to risk their lives this way.

"Let's do it," a single voice raised from the silence.

Just a few moments ago Tsubasa had thought Chieri wouldn't be able to handle this, but here she was, showing more strength and determination than her seniors and her manager. Tsubasa had to admit she'd been underestimating the girl since she took the Center Nova position, probably because she couldn't see anyone but Acchan the 13th, her Acchan, as the center of 00.

"I… I can't say it wouldn't make me really happy if we can help free Sagittariustar from DES, but that's not the reason I want to do this concert," Chieri pressed on. "When I was a child, I was always alone. My mother and brother were gone, and my father was always working. My tutors and caretakers were my only company. Of course, mine was a special case because I was Zodiac's heir, but…" She clenched her fist as a tear rolled down her cheek. "But my life probably wouldn't have been much different even if I was a normal kid. In Sagittariustar everyone lives their lives almost as if they were machines. Parents taking their kids to the park in a day-off, children playing around, people just having fun, are a rare sight in this planet." Chieri's kirara came out and began to glow. "To bring a smile to them, that's why I want to do this concert. I don't know if it really will help Yasunaga's plan, but... I just want to reach out to them."

Everyone watched in astonishment as many kirara appeared and surrounded Chieri. They were glowing so bright it seemed like she was covered in light.

"Let's go. Let's go meet them."


End file.
